UCONN MEN'S BASKETBALL: Kevin Ollie as head coach no surprise to former Cavs GM Jim Paxson

A lot has been made about Kevin Ollie's one-year contract as the new head coach at UConn, and the numerous non-guaranteed deals he had to play under over his nomadic, 13-year NBA career. But there was one time in his career when he did have some long-term stability.

On July 17, 2003, Ollie signed a five-year, $15 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After playing his first six years in the league without a guaranteed contract and playing for nine different teams over that span, Ollie finally had some security. But he wasn't about to rest on his laurels.

"I think for him," recalled Jim Paxson, who was the Cavs' GM at the time, "it just gave him more motivation to prove he deserved that."

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Ollie had led the league in assist-to-turnover ration the previous season between Milwaukee and Seattle, but that wasn't the only reason the Cavs signed him. The team had a bunch of young players -- including a certain No. 1 overall draft pick out of high school named LeBron James -- and Paxson wanted a veteran player to serve as a sort of mentor and role model.

"We thought he could come in and be a bridge for us at the point guard position," Paxson recalled, "and also be a good influence on our younger players, the primary one being LeBron."

And what made Paxson believe Ollie would be a good influence on King James?

"I just think his professionalism and approach to the game is what players followed," he said. "Even though LeBron was a great player when he first came in the league, along the way, in my first couple of years around him and even after that, (LeBron) was always looking for veterans in the league that did it the right way. Kevin had a good approach with LeBron and other young players - being a professional, showing it on a day-to-day basis that you've got to show up, work on your game, work on your body."

Ollie played all 82 games that season, the only time in his NBA career he ever did so. He only started seven times, however, and averaged a mere 17.1 minutes per game as he never quite fit in with coach Paul Silas, who was in his first year at the helm.

Interestingly, when Ollie went through spells of little playing time, he was picked up by some of the very same guys he was signed to help mentor.

"When at times he didn't get to play a lot, LeBron and the guys kind of rallied around him and kept his spirits up, too," Paxson recalled. "They appreciated how he came to work every day, how he was still trying to help them. He helped pick up some young guys, and was also picked up by them because of the type of person he was."

After the season, Ollie was traded to Philadelphia in the deal that brought Eric Snow to Cleveland. He played out the final four years of that contract with the Sixers, then played two more years before retiring in 2010 and joining Jim Calhoun's staff at UConn.

Paxson only lasted one more season in Cleveland before being fired in 2005. The following year, he became a consultant with the Chicago Bulls, where his brother John was general manager, and still holds that position today.

Paxson always believed Ollie had the potential to be a head coach someday.

"It was more based on some of the conversations I would have had with him," Paxson said. "He was looking at the game as a team, what was best for the team. You just kind of had that feeling that, if he wanted to pursue that and follow that path, he had the right demeanor and way about him and would have a chance to have some success."

Paxson was a two-time All-Star over an 11-year NBA career that began in 1979 with Portland and ended in 1990 with the Celtics. While he has faith Ollie can handle the job, he knows it won't be easy.

"At any level, when you move over from the assistant's chair to the head coaching chair, you have to make the final decisions - whether to substitute, take timeouts, etc.," he noted. "The pace and flow of the game is a little different than when you're sitting there as an assistant.

"But I think he will relate well to the players and find a way to get the most out of them."

Ollie has already displayed that on the recruiting trail, and he'll have another big chance soon. According to ESPNChicago.com, Ollie will have an in-home visit with Jabari Parker out in Chicago sometime next week.

Parker, a Class of 2013 forward, is the No. 1-ranked high school senior in the nation and the most hyped high school player since LeBron James.